S&P500 flirts with all-time high

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has extended its recent winning streak to 10 days and the S&P 500 closed in on a record high as investors were encouraged by data that showed the labour market's recovery is improving.

The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 83.86 points, or 0.6 per cent, to end at 14,539.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 8.71 points, or 0.6 per cent, to finish at 1563.23 - about 2 points shy of its record closing high set in October 2007. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 13.81 points, or 0.4 per cent, to close at 3,258.93.

The Dow posted its 10th day in a row of gains, matching a string of advances last seen in late 1996. US equities have accelerated their rise since the start of the year, driven by improvement in the economy and the Federal Reserve's continued easy monetary policy.

The Australian market is set to open higher, with the SPI futures index up 14.00 points.

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The Australian dollar is trading at 1.0378 US cents. It's also buying 99.59 Japanese yen, 79.80 euro cents, 68.80 British pence and 1.2632 New Zealand dollars.

"It's simply a natural progression for prices to move to new highs in order for the market to advance. I don't think it's scaring investors," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York.

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"Fund flows really have reversed direction, and money started moving out of money markets and some from fixed income to equities. This kind of trend doesn't change easily so we can expect a lot more to come in."

Three months into the year, the Dow has shot up more than 10 per cent, while the S&P 500 has gained 9 per cent.

Data on Thursday offered fresh signs of strength in the US labour market as the number of filings for new unemployment benefits fell for the third week in a row.

The US Producer Price Index rose in February by the most in five months as gasoline prices spiked, the Labor Department said in a separate report. There was, however, little sign of a broader increase in inflation pressures that could force the Fed to tighten monetary policy.

Ten of the Dow's 30 stocks hit at least 52-week highs, including Walt Disney. IBM shares climbed to a lifetime intraday high of $US215.85, and traded at the close at $US215.80, up 1.8 per cent.

Energy shares led the Dow and the S&P 500 higher, with the S&P energy sector index gaining 1.3 per cent. Chevron was among the Dow's biggest percentage gainers, rising 1.4 per cent to $US120, after earlier hitting a fresh 52-week intraday high of $US120.26.

Apple shares rose 1 per cent to $US432.50. Its rival Samsung launched the latest Galaxy phone in New York on Thursday.

Shares of eBay, operator of one of the largest online marketplaces, climbed 1.6 per cent to $US51.80 after Evercore Partners raised its rating to "overweight."

But on the downside, shares of Amazon, the world's biggest internet retailer, fell 3.4 per cent to $US265.74 after JPMorgan cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "overweight" and lowered its price target to $US300 from $US333.

E*Trade shares lost 8.2 per cent to $US10.85 after Citadel, its largest investor, said it is selling its entire stake in the discount brokerage and bank company.